Dear American Job Center Manager:
The U.S. Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is sponsoring a study to help policymakers and program administrators understand the level of accessibility of American Job Centers (AJCs) to individuals with disabilities. The issue of accessibility is of particular interest to multiple stakeholders, including: Congress, which requested the study; state and local leaders; customers; AJC Managers; and the Department as we seek to help identify ways to improve accessibility.
IMPAQ International (IMPAQ), an independent research company, and its partners the Burton Blatt Institute of Syracuse University and Universal Designers and Consultants, are conducting this study on behalf of the Department. As part of this important study, IMPAQ will be conducting a web-based survey of all AJC Managers, in addition to conducting on-site visits with a sample of 100 centers.
The purpose of the survey is to gather data to paint a broad picture about the degree to which AJCs, on average, are accessible to individuals with disabilities. We will not use the survey or in-person data collection to audit for compliance with laws and regulations regarding accessibility for AJCs. No information on the accessibility of individual AJCs will be provided to DOL as a result of this study. IMPAQ will report information as aggregate data that will be used only for the purposes of this study.
We encourage you to participate in this important study in two ways. First, within the next two weeks, all AJC Managers will receive an email from IMPAQ providing a link to the web-based survey. Please complete this survey as soon as possible. Second, IMPAQ will select 100 AJCs for on-site visits, using criteria to include sites with a range of characteristics, such as location, size, and type of center (i.e., comprehensive vs. affiliate). If your AJC is selected, IMPAQ will contact you to schedule an in-person visit in the fall of 2014.
We appreciate your participation in this study. For additional information, please contact the Federal Project Officer, Jonathan Simonetta at Simonetta.Jon.A@dol.gov or 202-693-5959, or Eileen Poe-Yamagata, the study project director at IMPAQ at epyamagata@impaqint.com or 443-367-0088 (ext. 2227).
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Portia Wu Kathleen Martinez
Assistant Secretary Assistant Secretary
Employment and Training Administration Office of Disability Employment Policy
| File Type | application/msword |
| Author | Stefanie R. Schmidt |
| Last Modified By | Gibbons, Scott M - ASP |
| File Modified | 2014-11-26 |
| File Created | 2014-11-26 |